NYC Council Committee Backs NYU Expansion

The Land Use Committee of the New York City Council voted 19-1 Tuesday to back a modified version of a plan to add four new buildings to New York University's Greenwich Village campus.

The expansion plan, which many Greenwich Village residents and NYU faculty members oppose, was reduced by about 20 percent to 1.9 million square feet since it was presented at a public hearing June 29.

Council member Margaret Chin, whose downtown Manhattan district includes NYU, said the scaled-down expansion balances the needs of NYU and the community.

"I wholeheartedly believe that this proposal will allow NYU's growth in the Village to occur at a sustainable pace, and that it will not overwhelm the wider Village community," she said.